Thought of the Day !!

Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. – James 5:13-16 (ESV)

James tells us to sing praises, to pray when suffering and for healing.  He tells us to confess to each other (with the assumption I believe that we are to confess to God as well).  In a nutshell, he’s telling us that prayer is so very important to our Church. 

Do you struggle with prayer?  Does your mind wander, or do you have trouble finding the right words to express yourself?  Do you try to pray when going to bed only to find yourself falling asleep?

If so, you’re not alone.  If polled, I would imagine the numbers would be very high on those who would claim to have problems with their prayer life.  In the book Before Amen by Max Lucado he confesses that he is a “recovering prayer wimp”.  Author of more Christian books that I can count, pastor and speaker for years, and he admits that there are countless times that he’s had the exact same issues with prayer that I just spoke of. 

There are a lot of books on prayer out there and many different ways to pray.  But if you ask me, the main thing to remember about prayer is this.  When you pray, be intimate.  Talk to your Daddy in Heaven or your friend and Savior Jesus or the Holy Spirit that spends more time with you than anyone else.  Talk to Him.  Talk to Him often.  And just say whatever is on your mind.  Say it in private.  Say it in public when asked to pray in a crowd.  Say it wherever and whenever you think about Him.  Just talk.  And He will listen.  Of course prayer is a two way street so don’t just talk.  Listen for Him to speak as well.         

In the love of Christ,

greg

Story from the Streets

A lady came up to me last night and thanked me over and over for the tennis shoes we gave her last week.  She told me that these are the first pair she's ever owned.  Growing up, her mother wouldn't allow her to have them.  She wore dress shoes only.  She told me that she had washed them and that they were very clean.  As I looked down at her feet I saw her wearing socks and sandals.  It was raining and her feet were dripping wet.  I guess she didn't want to get her new shoes wet.  It is funny how something like a pair of used tennis shoes can make someone so happy.  Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Thought of the Day !!

Later, Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. But when the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with such scum?”

When Jesus heard this, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.” Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” – Matthew 9:10-13 (NLT)

So just what kind of person does Jesus seek (both then and now)?  As the ultimate Physician he seeks the sick, the spiritually sick that is.  He seeks those who are dirty. 

The dirtiness I’m speaking of has nothing to do with the outside physical body (though it may be dirty too at times).  It has to do with the heart.  Jesus came as a cardiovascular surgeon to do heart surgery on us.  And those who know that they are sinners, that know they are in need of a surgery, and who seek to change are the ones Jesus seeks.  This is because they are the ones who are responsive to his healing.  They know that they have a heart condition. 

Those who won't admit to having a heart problem will never allow a surgeon to operate on them physically.  Neither will people allow Jesus to operate on them spiritually if they think that their heart is already “good enough”. 

Eating with what the “proper” people thought of as “scum” and “sinners” was taboo in this time.  Sharing a meal was a cultural sign of friendship and acceptance.  These Pharisees saw Jesus’ eating with the lowly tax collectors and sinners as an acceptance of their lifestyle.  This is obviously something that they would never do.  They enjoyed their clean religion where they went to worship properly and tithed the proper amount and acted the proper way around the proper people.  Pharisees continue to do this to this day.

If we’re going to be followers then we will have to get dirty with Jesus.  We must go where the need is instead of waiting for people to come to our clean environment.  

In the love of Christ,

greg 

Thought of the Day !!

Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.” – Matthew 8:18-22 (ESV)

Wow…this doesn’t sound like the invitation or reply that we would give to someone seeking to come to our church does it?  We’d never tell people that they must drop everything right now and give up their luxuries and come to church prepared to leave out in any unknown direction doing only God knows what.  We’d be afraid they wouldn’t come.

Jesus makes it clear in this and other passages that being his follower is going to be different.  It would be harder than going along with the norm.  He made it clear that suffering would accompany it.  There would be less money in it instead of more.  There would be more serving and less being served.  But it would also come with so much more than this world could ever offer us.

Martin Luther once said, “A religion that gives nothing, costs nothing, and suffers nothing, is worth nothing.”  I believe that’s exactly how Jesus felt as well.

It’s not that salvation is difficult to obtain.  It’s actually very simple.  Come to Jesus.  But in following Jesus, we will be different from the world.  And it can be difficult taking the path less traveled (the right road) when others are taking the easy ones. 

Our Christian life is often times difficult.  But it’s never complicated.  Love Jesus.  Love each other.  In doing the more difficult, yet less complicated thing, we also will be rewarded with the greatest thing, a loving relationship with God our Father and Jesus our Lord.

In the love of Christ,

greg  

Thought of the Day !!

If you love me, you will keep my commandments. – John 14:15 (ESV)

Growing up I loved my mom and dad (this hasn't changed since becoming an adult).  One of the ways I showed this was by my obedience to them.  Did I always obey?  Just ask them and you'll get a definitive "NO".  But for the most part I wanted to make them proud.  The problem was that I struggled between my desire to do their will and my own will that at times went against theirs.

It's the same way with Jesus.  He is supposed to be Lord of our lives if we call ourselves Christians.  Will we ever disobey (sin)?  Yes.  That comes because we're still struggling with our sinful nature.  But if we truly love Jesus, we will have the desire to make him proud, which means we will want to obey him.  

So if we love Jesus, we will keep his commandments.  We will strive to obey and do the best we can to be the people he wants us to be.  The result will be the same as when I obeyed my mom and dad.  We will be better off for it because he knows best.  And just as when I disobeyed them, He too, will forgive.

In the love of Christ,

greg